The Kitchen: Beaujolais Nouveau Drinking Parties Tonight

Every year on the third Thursday of November, just after the strike of midnight, Beaujolais Nouveau is released and we get our first taste of the year's harvest.

While there are two types of Beaujolais, Nouveau and Cru, tonight is Nouveau night. Both are from Burgundy and made from the Gamay grape.

Beaujolais Nouveau is a fun, fruity, sometimes good, sometimes not-so-good wine that is as much about pomp and circumstance as it is about the wine itself. It is an easy drinking wine and a great excuse for a Thursday night celebration.

Right now nearly every retailer in New York will have at least one producer in stock, the most common one being Georges Duboeuf, but there are many other smaller wineries. Beaujolais is usually inexpensive ($8 to $10/bottle) and meant to be consumed right away, so don't hold back. Go for it!